For way too much of my adult life I tried to make sense of the obvious contradictions in the bible. I was taught that the holy spirit wrote the whole thing so there couldn’t be any Bible contradictions or inconsistencies, but there they were. They screamed out at me and the more I tried to defend against the obvious, the more insane and irrevelant I became: for the very one I was trying to promote. As though God needed my approval?

Once I gave up trying to defend two indefensible positions, life became a lot easier to live: God became a lot easier to talk about to others. Here is what I’ve come to accept.

1-The Bible does not present a consistent view of God.

2-The Bible is not clear on the destiny of humanity.

So, I’ve had to sort though all the Hebrew and Greek ideas of God, among other paradigms. I’ve had to match what the Bible says with what I’m hearing the Spirit say with what my experience is with God, and then try to intellectually articulate what it is that I’ve come to embrace. That’s not easy and that’s probably why people don’t even try.

It’s much easier to just go with the flow! Accept what you’re told- in faith! Don’t use your brain, don’t think too hard, and above all be very careful about what you read as you might get led astray. Yeah, right! As though I’ve not already been led around by the nose?

So, which translation of the Bible do you read? How do we deal with the differences? Does it matter? And the answer is no until you disagree with someone on something that they believe deeply- then it matters a great deal.

Humanity wrote the Bible. Sometimes those authors got it right; sometimes they missed it by a mile. Sometimes the authors were inspired by God and other times they were just writing some poetry out of their own hurt and woundings. Some books didnt make it into the canons that I feel should have but I’m okay with what we have because I can still read the other gnostic books, lost gospels, and misc. epistles that some of the early fathers felt should be kept out of the canon.

It’s a slippery slope when you’re lead of the Spirit and have to rely upon God to get you through the maze of disconnects and inconsistencies. But, for me it’s far more exciting and alive than the super glue slope where you become stuck (in your childhood teachings) and can’t move in any direction.

Bible contradictions? Absolutely. So, let’s talk about them. It’s incredibly exciting. After all the cost of certainity is way too high of price to pay.

About the Author:

ernie@lrchouston.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Bible Contradictions?

Translating the Bible and Forced Assimilation – #17

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